What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an attack?

You must accept that danger exists and that it can happen to you. This is the foundational core of spiritual fitness and the first step in taking proactive steps to protect yourself and your loved ones. If you live in a fantasyland that nothing bad can happen because nothing bad has happened in the past, you’re setting yourself up for a terrible letdown. The guard clearly wasn’t expecting to have to get physical with these people (the soldier had just thrown up on the sidewalk which is why she had a mop bucket).

Sometimes the danger that you must protect yourself and your family from isn’t evil, but is rather deranged. People who aren’t in their right faculties can be a real danger to your family, even if they are not inherently evil. You need the attitude, skills, and plan to protect yourself from evil AND from non-evil threats that pop up! This soldier wasn’t evil; he was drunk and stupid, and did drunk and stupid things. That doesn’t make him any less of a threat.

Many times an attacker will give pre-attack cues during the “warmup” phase of an attack that defenders can use to anticipate what is coming. One of the most common is looking around, either for witnesses or for escape routes. If you’re interviewing/being interviewed, and in your talk notice someone who exhibits other danger signs looking left and right away from you, consider that a significant clue that something is wrong and place yourself in the best possible place to avert or deal with the potential attack.

The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but the hands are the windows to the intent of a person. If you’re in a potential conflict, ALWAYS pay attention to what the aggressor is doing with their hands. They might have a force multiplier in their hand, or they might be hiding their hand so that you can’t see what is in it or using their hand to conceal something. If their hands are empty, there is a difference between someone with fists and someone whose hands are open and relaxed. As a self-defender your situational awareness must include seeing the hands of any potential threat in your vicinity, so watch the hands!

If you know there might be danger around, you cannot stand there flat-footed with your hands at your side. That’s a great way to die. Instead, if you think danger might be coming but not imminent, get your hands up protecting your head, neck, and chest. I do this by tucking one hand under the other elbow, and the free hand on my chin as if I were in deep contemplation. Others do it using the “interview position” with both hands as if they’re holding a pad and pen. Getting your hands up shaves split seconds off your reaction time, but that might make the difference between life and death if you can prepare.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Armed robbery SHOULD be a hazardous profession, right? And this Good Samaritan gave him a significant beating, though there is a lot to learn here about the hazards of stepping into a deadly force encounter as well.

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this Good Samaritan turning the tables on a robber? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against a robber?

As each of us considers whether to be a Good Samaritan and step into encounters that do not directly involve us, we must consider the implications on our lives and families. Does your desire to step in override your duty to your spouse and children and loved ones? Or is it part of your care for your family to protect others wherever you can? Does the danger to yourself outweigh the benefit of stepping in? Having wisdom in these situations means thinking through when we would step in to stop a robber and when we should just get out of the danger zone.

Emotional fitness is not only about staying in the fight, but about choosing to protect yourself wholeheartedly. Time and again we see victims “try out” defending themselves to see if they can, and then wilting when it doesn’t work immediately. This places them in grave danger from attackers who are now offended as well as aware that their victims could fight back. The lesson here is that if you’re going to comply, comply. But if you choose to protect yourself, in the moment you choose to launch your counter-attack, launch it with ferocity and commitment. Go “all in” and prevail 100%, beginning with spiritual, emotional, and mental fitness to win the fight no matter what. Anything else is setting you up for disaster. Perhaps the best thing this Good Samaritan had going for him is that he went with all he had!

As well-meaning as police officers are, they cannot protect you from danger. As the old adage says, “When seconds count, the police are only minutes away!” You—and ONLY you—can protect yourself from danger when it comes upon you. A police response time of 5 minutes is considered perfectly acceptable in most suburban departments, and times upwards of 30 minutes can be the norm in rural areas! You need to have the attitude, skills, and plan to protect yourself from harm because the police simply can’t.

As one of my martial arts mentors, Skip Hancock, is fond of saying, the ground must be your friend and not your enemy. You must know how to fight on the ground and not panic if the fight goes to the ground! You must have skills from bottom position, from top position, and in the scramble. You must be able to regain your feet and fight from wherever you find yourself. Too many fights require this skill to ignore it!

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

The bat wielding neighbor committed aggravated assault in this video, but the big dude handled him like a boss once the fight started! Lots of lessons here for our Active Self Protection.

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this argument between neighbors that escalated to assault? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

The oldest “news” story I could find on this is here, though I couldn’t find the story that he supposedly quoted from: https://get-asp.com/o8a1

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an armed attacker?

If you can win “the fight before the fight,” you win. You win that fight by minimizing your potential for being attacked in the first place! That means making smart decisions and living a life of awareness and readiness so that you don’t take unnecessary risks. The Reddit thread says these guys had a longstanding beef, and that’s an indicator of problems to come.

The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but the hands are the windows to the intent of a person. If you’re in a potential conflict, ALWAYS pay attention to what the aggressor is doing with their hands. They might have a force multiplier in their hand, or they might be hiding their hand so that you can’t see what is in it or using their hand to conceal something. If their hands are empty, there is a difference between someone with fists and someone whose hands are open and relaxed. As a self-defender your situational awareness must include seeing the hands of any potential threat in your vicinity, so watch the hands!

Your mobile phone is a useful tool but a dangerous one. It can be used to communicate, to get emergency help to you, and to avoid problems altogether in numerous ways. It can also be a very dangerous distraction, because it is designed purposefully to grasp our undivided attention and hold it. When in public, use your mobile sparingly and correctly. Don’t allow it to hold your attention for more than 20-30 seconds at a time, and hold it high so that your head is up and you can see past it to what is going on around you. Use a single earbud if you are listening to music so that you can hear your surroundings as well. Yes, that’s a pain for those who are using their phone for entertainment, but in public you must consider your surroundings!

Using your verbal judo to de-escalate and redirect a conflict is always the best choice if it is available, so make sure that your verbal game is strong. Knowing how to redirect, how to persuade, how to empathize, and how to talk someone down from a confrontation is critical to avoiding some fights. That said, we must also know that some people will not be dissuaded from a fight, so knowing when to talk and when to act is critical as well.

The “Five Ds Plus 1” are a tool that we use at ASP to organize our training and preparation for defending ourselves against an armed attacker when we are not armed ourselves. (or if we are armed but outdrawn such that we must deal with the problem with our hands) First, before the others, we need to control Distance. (it’s the plus 1…it stands by itself and is the gateway to the others working) Then Deflect, Dominate, Distract, Disarm, Disable. We pursue them from first to last, in order, to give us the best chance of successfully defending ourselves against an armed opponent. Close the Distance to the place where we can effectively use our empty-handed skills. Deflect their force multiplier, Dominate as much as possible (best is the whole person, second is the arm with the tool, last is the tool itself), Distract the attacker (usually using pain, redirection, movement, etc.), Disarm the attacker, and Disable the attacker.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

This long simmering feud finally erupted into shots fired and a gunfight that teaches self-defenders a lot of lessons for before, during, and after a deadly force encounter.

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this gunfight from a feud? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves in a gunfight?

The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but the hands are the windows to the intent of a person. If you’re in a potential conflict, ALWAYS pay attention to what the aggressor is doing with their hands. They might have a force multiplier in their hand, or they might be hiding their hand so that you can’t see what is in it or using their hand to conceal something. If their hands are empty, there is a difference between someone with fists and someone whose hands are open and relaxed. As a self-defender your situational awareness must include seeing the hands of any potential threat in your vicinity, so watch the hands!

Using your verbal judo to de-escalate and redirect a conflict is always the best choice if it is available, so make sure that your verbal game is strong. Knowing how to redirect, how to persuade, how to empathize, and how to talk someone down from a confrontation is critical to avoiding some fights. That said, we must also know that some people will not be dissuaded from a fight, so knowing when to talk and when to act is critical as well.

The first pillar of lawful, moral self-defense is “innocence.” (get a nutshell here: http://get-asp.com/wbbp or the whole concept here: http://get-asp.com/1fqe ) Innocence requires that we not be the instigator of the fight and that we not be the aggressor or the perpetrator. In some states when we attempt to leave or run we can re-establish innocence in self-defense, but states differ on that. Regardless, getting into a fight is a poor basis for a self-defense claim later, so always live in such a way that innocence isn’t a problem for you.

Our defensive strategy is always dictated by our mission. It’s worth remembering that the mission of military members (to overwhelm the enemy with force and drive them from the battlefield) is different than the mission of law enforcement officers (to protect and serve the public interest by subduing and arresting those suspected of crime) is different than the mission of armed private citizens (to protect their loved ones from harm by breaking contact effectively with violent criminals). Those varied missions will dictate what skills are needed and what tactics are employed!

In a deadly force encounter, decisions of life and death will be made in the blink of an eye. On the range and in class we have time to consider and to think and to reset and to make multiple attempts, but when the balloon goes up in real life you’ve got fractions of seconds to decide what the best course of action is to protect yourself. The way to be better at decision making in the heat of the moment is training, specifically scenario training and force-on-force training that is designed to work on decision-making skills under stress. It’s offered all over the country, so get training!

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Attitude. Skills. Plan.

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Firearms safety is the responsibility of every user of firearms. If you can’t follow them, all the time, then don’t carry one. This is a reminder of what happens when you disregard them!

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this terrible firearms safety rules violation? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

The number one reason for negligent discharge with a firearm is complacency with the Rules of Firearms Safety. When your firearm stops being something you respect as dangerous, you can easily get complacent with treating it as a deadly force multiplier, and that complacency in handling leads to negligent discharges. The correction to that is to always remember that it’s a dangerous tool, and to treat it with respect! (I see the same kind of thing with driving and motorcycle riding; once you forget it’s a dangerous tool, bad things are coming)

Administrative firearm handling is dangerous. If you don’t NEED to be handling your firearm, DON’T. When the gun is not properly stored, holstered, or slung but is rather in your hands, it is a dangerous time. Recognize that whenever you handle your firearm in an administrative task (holstering in the morning, loading, unloading and showing clear on the range, inspection, unloading for dry fire work, etc.) that you’re doing something very dangerous and practice the rules of safe firearms handling religiously!

The first rule of firearms safety is to always keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction. ALWAYS keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction! A safe direction is one that is never pointed at someone who is not a deadly threat to you or others, and will minimize property damage if the firearm were to have a negligent discharge. If you follow this first rule, even if you somehow discharge the firearm, no one will be hurt and that’s the biggest goal.

The second rule of firearms safety is to keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire! I like to bolster that rule by framing it as “keep your fingers completely out of the trigger guard until you’ve decided to fire.” Had this guard not been stupid enough to put his finger on the trigger, his friend wouldn’t have been shot.

First aid skills are important. If you’re going to train and prepare to take a life to defend yourself, you should also have skills, training, and equipment to save life should you need to. (I carry an individual first aid kit at a minimum: http://amzn.to/1Or4yVz ) Often that will not involve defensive encounters, and in a defensive encounter your primary responsibility is to yourself and your loved ones.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Attitude. Skills. Plan.

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

This woman fought pretty well I think, but the mugger had the drop on her and that made it tough. Lots of lessons for self-defenders of all kinds from this mugging!

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this mugger ambushing a woman on the street? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against muggers?

The first and most foundational part of Active Self Protection’s defensive strategy of “Attitude, Skills, Plan” is Attitude. You must cultivate the attitude that you are responsible for your own self-protection and you are the primary agent in your own rescue. You and only you can choose to cultivate an attitude that no one has the right to harm you or your loved ones and you have a right and a responsibility to stop anyone who threatens to harm you and yours. This woman had a good attitude, but needed to back it up with some awareness and some skills!

Evil exists in our world, and no amount of wishing it away does so. Evil people do evil things, and good people must be ready and willing to stand between them and innocent people and do enough violence to stop them definitively. No amount of negotiation will make truly evil people change their ways; only those willing and able to stop them who use attitude, skills, and plan effectively can.

The “master key” to situational awareness, as taught to me by my teacher Lawrence Robinson and his teacher Skip Hancock, is simple curiosity. You don’t have to be paranoid! Instead, simply be curious of your world like a small child is curious of their world. Look around you and really SEE. Look for what makes sense in your surroundings, but most importantly look for what’s out of place and doesn’t belong. I like to think back to the Sesame Street song “Three of These Things” and remember to look for the thing that doesn’t belong. As self-defenders, you’re looking for someone who doesn’t belong in their environment. A person standing still while everyone else moves. A person in a hoodie with the hood up when everyone else is in shorts and flip flops on a hot day. A person loitering where people come and go quickly. If you are curious and looking for what doesn’t belong, you’re 99% of the way there to being aware of your surroundings!

Transitional spaces are places where we MUST be more careful of potential attack. A transitional space is any location that (1) allows attackers to prey on potential victims with an element of surprise and (2) provides ready escape for the attackers. The sidewalk is a transitional space because of the ease of ambush and escape, so when you’re walking in public, be aware.

If you run from an attack, don’t just run AWAY from danger. Run TO something. Run TO the corner where you can fight one at a time. Run TO a store where a guard can help you. Run TO your house where you can lock the door. Run TO a place where you can better defend yourself from attack. Running FROM danger is great, but running TO safety is better!

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Attitude. Skills. Plan.

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

This Good Samaritan, Tim Martin, deserves great credit for stepping in to help the two female cops who needed him! Have you thought about if and when you’d step in to help?

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this Good Samaritan coming to the aid of two cops? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending helping cops and being a Good Samaritan?

Sometimes the danger that you must protect yourself and your family from isn’t evil, but is rather deranged. People who aren’t in their right faculties can be a real danger to your family, even if they are not inherently evil. You need the attitude, skills, and plan to protect yourself from evil AND from non-evil threats that pop up! The perp here seems to be not in his right faculties, but regardless they all had to defend themselves against his attack.

Part of your training must be knowing when to use verbal commands, and when to abandon verbal commands and move to physical or deadly force. Many times self-defenders (and LEO) get caught in a loop of issuing the same command repeatedly to no effect. Using verbal commands is an important part of your force options training, and part of that training in verbal commands is knowing when to talk and when to stop talking and act. You can’t talk to a man who is trying to take your gun; you must put him down.

Private citizens must consider when and how to step in to help LEO who are struggling with a suspect. I think that it is a morally good thing to step in if possible, because ending the physical conflict helps the officer AND the suspect not to get hurt. (the suspect isn’t getting away…and if he does, he’s going to be in REAL danger when they catch up to him next) If you choose to step in to help an officer, please be sure to (1) announce yourself; (2) ask the officer if they want help (“Officer, do you need help? I can help you if you want me to!”); (3) communicate with the officer what you see and what you’re doing (“I have this arm,” “I have his legs pinned,” etc.); (4) if they want you help, GO AFTER IT rather than being timid. Stop the conflict, help the officer, and end the fight.

The Bystander Effect is real. There were lots of people around here, but no one stepped in to help before Mr. Martin did. You cannot count on anyone breaking the Bystander Effect to help you, especially if the attacker is armed and any help would be at a force deficit from it. Usually the best way to break the Bystander Effect is to have a force multiplication advantage, which is a great reason to keep your force multiplier on you at all times.

As one of my martial arts mentors, Skip Hancock, is fond of saying, the ground must be your friend and not your enemy. You must know how to fight on the ground and not panic if the fight goes to the ground! You must have skills from bottom position, from top position, and in the scramble. You must be able to regain your feet and fight from wherever you find yourself. Too many fights require this skill to ignore it!

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

These retired cops should have known better, but because they let their ego get the best of them, one is dead and one is facing murder charges. If you carry a firearm, learn the lessons!

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like these retired cops getting into a shootout? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

If you can win “the fight before the fight,” you win. You win that fight by minimizing your potential for being attacked in the first place! That means making smart decisions and living a life of awareness and readiness so that you don’t take unnecessary risks. Both of these retired cops took needless risks, and that’s sad.

Using your verbal judo to de-escalate and redirect a conflict is always the best choice if it is available, so make sure that your verbal game is strong. Knowing how to redirect, how to persuade, how to empathize, and how to talk someone down from a confrontation is critical to avoiding some fights. That said, we must also know that some people will not be dissuaded from a fight, so knowing when to talk and when to act is critical as well.

If you know there might be danger around, you cannot stand there flat-footed with your hands at your side. That’s a great way to die. Instead, if you think danger might be coming but not imminent, get your hands up protecting your head, neck, and chest. I do this by tucking one hand under the other elbow, and the free hand on my chin as if I were in deep contemplation. Others do it using the “interview position” with both hands as if they’re holding a pad and pen. Getting your hands up shaves split seconds off your reaction time, but that might make the difference between life and death if you can prepare.

The first pillar of lawful, moral self-defense is “innocence.” (get a nutshell here: http://get-asp.com/wbbp or the whole concept here: http://get-asp.com/1fqe ) Innocence requires that we not be the instigator of the fight and that we not be the aggressor or the perpetrator. In some states when we attempt to leave or run we can re-establish innocence in self-defense, but states differ on that. Regardless, getting into a fight is a poor basis for a self-defense claim later, so always live in such a way that innocence isn’t a problem for you. The second cop is facing murder charges because of the problem of innocence.

Spiritual fitness is an important part of Active Self Protection. You don’t often get any advance notice of the last day of your life, but we see over and over that self-defense isn’t a guarantee of winning every fight you might be placed in. You want to be at peace with your loved ones and with God, because you’ll need that peace on the day that you meet Him. Since you can’t guarantee advanced notice, make peace today. I think that part of spiritual fitness is not being keen to get into deadly fights, either.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

He made a compliance sandwich with a side of chill for sure. If you recognized the jammed gun, would you have fought this armed robber for it or complied?

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like this clerk staying calm during an armed robbery? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against an armed robber?

You must accept that danger exists and that it can happen to you. This is the foundational core of spiritual fitness and the first step in taking proactive steps to protect yourself and your loved ones. If you live in a fantasyland that nothing bad can happen because nothing bad has happened in the past, you’re setting yourself up for a terrible letdown.

Transitional spaces are places where we MUST be more careful of potential attack. A transitional space is any location that (1) allows attackers to prey on potential victims with an element of surprise and (2) provides ready escape for the attackers.

The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but the hands are the windows to the intent of a person. If you’re in a potential conflict, ALWAYS pay attention to what the aggressor is doing with their hands. They might have a force multiplier in their hand, or they might be hiding their hand so that you can’t see what is in it or using their hand to conceal something. If their hands are empty, there is a difference between someone with fists and someone whose hands are open and relaxed. As a self-defender your situational awareness must include seeing the hands of any potential threat in your vicinity, so watch the hands!

Don’t get into verbal battles with armed robbers, carjackers, or other attackers. As Greg Ellifritz points out, those verbal challenges are taken as personal attacks and lead to a MUCH higher chance of being hurt in a violent encounter. Learn the lessons he gives in that article about how to provide a “face-saving exit” and not get shot by challenging their ego!

It’s a morally acceptable choice in an armed robbery to simply give the armed robber what they want. Only you can decide in the moment if the attacker is using their force multiplier as an intimidation tool or if they really intend to do you harm, and giving up your phone or wallet to escape the danger zone can be an acceptable choice. Either way, you must count the potential cost of your life vs. your possessions and take the best action that protects your life, which is infinitely more valuable than your things.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Whether LE or CCW, there is a lot to learn from these Polish Police confronting a deranged man who is threatening the local population.

If you value what we do at ASP, would you consider becoming an ASP Patron Member to support the work it takes to make the narrated videos like these officers confronting this deranged man? https://get-asp.com/patron gives the details and benefits.

UPDATE: there are English subtitles on this original video which shows that this is at least an attempted suicide by cop: https://get-asp.com/89js

What does this video teach us about defending ourselves against someone armed with short range tools like a hammer and crowbar?

You must know the range of your force multiplier and the range of various force multipliers that might be used against you. Hammers and crowbars are short-range, fast moving force multipliers. If thrown, they become single use, long range force multipliers. Firearms are extremely long-range, fast moving force multipliers.

If you have a firearm out, distance is your friend. A firearm has a functionally infinite range in a deadly force encounter. (yes, I know, that’s not 100% true…for the purposes of a self-defense fight, it is functionally true) If you are at contact distance to someone you have a firearm aimed at, you give them the ability to fight you for your firearm and negate the advantage you have. Therefore, if you have a gun on someone, stay out of range of their hands if at all possible!

If you have a partner with you when you’re attacked (be it a LEO partner if you work on a team, or your spouse or martial artist buddy), you want to do everything you can to work as a team. Knowing each other well and communicating clearly will help you protect yourself from danger. This takes training and practice and commitment, but two partners working together present a formidable challenge to any attacker.

In the moment of need, the old saying goes that you will not rise to the occasion but fall to the level of your training. Usually, you’ll fall to the level of your WORST DAY in training. That means you want to train hard, train regularly, and make no excuses (to paraphrase one of my martial arts mentors, Skip Hancock) so that your worst day is good enough for the fight you’re in.

Whether you’re LEO or CCW, you need to know what force options you have available and when to abandon one and move to another. (“force options” are a better model than the older “force continuum” model) You need to know when your pepper spray is the best option, or when to abandon it (or the TASER) in favor of your firearm in a split-second decision. The best way, of course, to learn and embed these options in your mind is to train in force on force scenarios with the options and then respond to the situations appropriately. Against a hammer and crowbar, a less-lethal option like a TASER or OC spray wouldn’t have been appropriate.

There are 3 additional lessons for Patron Members and 3 class starters for Instructors from this video, so please join us in those programs to see them!

Copyright Disclaimer. Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.